http://k6educators.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.enchantedlearning.com/DictionaryA.html
I felt that this was a great tool for ELL students. By using a picture dictionary the students can look at the word and the corresponding picture to help them learn the concept and understand better. Students can learn a great deal of information in a shorter amount of time and I feel that they will understand it better because they can relate the word to the picture.
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I agree with you. It is always great to have a picture or an actual object to go with the word. When I moved to US my mother went around the house and posted sticky notes with the English word for that particular object on everything in site. This truly helped us to learn vocabulary since we became faced with it day in and day out. Before you know it we all started using English language to communicate among each other.
When I observed in my sophomore field, they used the picture dictionary. The classroom only had 6 and they all had to share the book. The task was the students had to write a story and could use the picture dictionary if they had a word they didn’t know how to spell. Also, this is great as you said for ELL learners for seeing a picture and knowing how the word looks.
I think it is very important for an ELL student to use a picture dictionary. When I started school my first dictionary was a picture dictionary. I didn't understand a meaning of a word on my homework worksheet. I first run to my dad and ask him what the word means and he says, “go look it up in the dictionary.” After looking up the word in the dictionary and seeing the picture next to the word I remember the definition very well.
The picture dictionary is a great idea! It offers ELL a great way to correlate words with meaning. I remember when I was in fourth grade we had a new student from China that did not a single word of English. They gave his this machine that swiped little cards. On the cards there was a word and a picture representing the word. He would use the cards to swipe through the machine and listen to the machien read the word to him via head phones. I remember sitting near him in one of the classrooms and watching him learn each word. I was really intrigued on how he was correlating each word he heard with the objects surrounding him. I obviously was only about 9 years old and can not write a factual observation but recalling back on the time, I feel having a picture type dictionary was extrememly benficial to him.
The picture dictionary is more than a tool to learn the meaning of the words. It is a way to learn independence. When we send the child to look up words in the dictionary, we tell him that he is in control, that he can do it on his own, and that is a powerful message.
Pilar
The picture dictionary is a great tool for ELL students, especially in the beginning stages. After viewing the sight I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of words and pictures they have. This site can be extremely useful in helping ELLs expand their vocabulary. By seeing the word next to the pitcure the students can later visualize what the object is without the picture when they see it in a book or hear it in conversation.
A picture dictionary is ideal for ELL because it gives them the opportunity to learn new words through association of pictures. For my Disabled Persons of America class I had to create a lesson plan and I chose to teach children how to spell their names through a picture book. They had to associate the letters of their name to something else that started with that same letter. This is a useful technique for any teacher to use when learning new concepts. Having a dictionary that the students can keep also allows them to look back at these words and broaden their vocabulary. This idea challenges both dependent and independent learners to think of what to write and draw for each word. It makes them think of and be able to express their ideas of what something or someone looks like in their minds as opposed to other students. Not only will these students learn the meaning of words unfamiliar to them they will learn the correct spelling of words along the way. This is important for ELL students because they need to learn first by visually seeing a picture in order to associate the words but after a while the word will be familiar to them without the picture. Now the word is unconsciously part of their vocabulary. This all helps with the progression of English Language Learners.
Great website, Amanda. This resource is great for kids who are just learning the English Language. And what makes it even better is that they could access it from home. They even give Morse code, Braille, and sign language. The pictures are simple yet informative. I’ll keep this website in mind. Thanks :)
Great website, Amanda. This resource is great for kids who are just learning the English Language. And what makes it even better is that they could access it from home. They even give Morse code, Braille, and sign language. The pictures are simple yet informative. I’ll keep this website in mind. Thanks :)
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